Security & Facilitation

A recent industry panel on the Checkpoint of the Future concluded that aviation needs smarter and more efficient passenger screening. Not because there is a crisis of confidence in the current checkpoint – it has kept the traveling public safe, but rather because it needs to evolve. Today’s screening is based on finding bad objects, but the checkpoint of the future needs to find bad people too.

IATA is planning this checkpoint development in two phases. The first step is to repurpose and reintegrate existing technology into an intermediate checkpoint. This checkpoint would integrate several central elements of the Checkpoint of the Future including passenger data, behavioral analysis and the creation of new screening lanes. In the longer term, IATA envisions an interruption free passenger transit from curb to aircraft. Combining biometrics, stand-off screening, and passenger data, travelers should walk through a “tunnel of technology” where security and customs processing would occur in a transparent manner.   For more information, contact secfal@iata.org